Amy: A Life in Music

I do all these things, so I wanted to join Julyssa in her journey through music. Mind you, I did grow up in Peru with a multicultural background, and my musical culture is very bizarre. I’m not going to try to appear cool, and I doubt my choices will make anyone think that — you are most likely going to laugh at my picks and shout “whaaaaaaaat?” at the screen.

Having a father who loved music, I grew up with music of La Nueva Ola, meaning I grew up with Little Richard, Elvis and the like… but in Spanish. Man, bands like Los Doltons marked my childhood like no other, with songs like El Ultimo Beso [1], a cover of Last Kiss [1] or that famous version of Sukiyaki [1]. Alas, this is perhaps the reason why I don’t know much about my 80s. So forgive the lack of choices in there.

1986 – The Bangles – Different Light

It isn’t so much about the album, but the song Walk like an Egyptian. I remember playing around in my godfather’s restaurant — of course, NOT when I was just born, but as a tiny 4 or 5-year-old — as I waited for my dad to be done with work, the radio was crazy overplaying this song alongside Spandau Ballet’s True [MV]. LOL

Arena Hash’s music is a staple in any Peruvian’s life that grew up in the early 90s. Their early 90s stuff was party music and can still be heard from time to time, considering the growth of Rock en Español radios that have come out in recent years. Their debut, Arena Hash, contains such hits as Me Resfrie en Brasil (I Got Sick in Brazil), and Cuando la Cama me Da Vuelta (When the Bed Spins me Around).

1988 – New Kids on the Block – Hangin’ Tough

I’m blaming this one on my cousin.

1989 – El Show de July – Cassette No. 2 / Cassette No. 3

OK, if you’re not Julyssa (because I was talking to her about this), I hope you just gasped. I sent Julyssa down memory lane with this music. She actually didn’t really remember this. But El Show de July, which was kind of a blatant version of Xou da Xuxa and had covers of some of the songs, was a big staple of my generation.

I was the biggest El Show de July fan. I had my knitted sock puppets (still have… at least one of them), and still have two tapes. I’m sure I had the only three tapes she ever recorded, but the first one is missing. With songs like Vamos a Jugar a los Indios (Let’s Play that We’re Indians), Arco Iris del Amor (Rainbow of Love), Yo No (Not Me) and Fantasmas (Ghosts) — I was a happy, well-behaved child.

Oh, man. I’m laughing as I write this because I’m listening to the tapes.

I was a pre-teen girl in a world pre-internet, any girl would be lying if they didn’t tell you that they weren’t into Salserin. Pretty sure it was at that time that Servando and Florentino got in trouble with that concert from hell they did.

I also liked Los Adolescent’s Orquesta buahaha. I was on a cab, and the driver was listening to a salsa station, when I heard this typical thing they do in the winds section. It struck me as familiar, and then I heard it – Adolescent’s! LOL I started giggling.

@Rodrigo, Dangerous had Will You Be There – OMG, the spoken bit makes me sad more than ever! MJ sounds so deeply hurt in that.

Salserin is sooooo obvious if you were a teen girl in South America, while I was reading about it for this, found that they apparently they did a concert last year in Lima with 10,000 people? Did you hear about it? Because I didn’t…

I was researching music to add in the earlier years, and when I heard Torbellino – LOL, I still remember the lyrics. The other day I was cruising Miraflores, and saw an ad promoting Stephanie Cayo’s debut album? xD

Dude… I’m gonna beat you up! You picked like three or four of the albums that I wanted to put on my list… HaHa. Just shows that we both have great taste in music, I suppose. I guess I’ll have to get creative and out-list you… HaHa.